Latino Daily News

Anti-Union Violence in Colombia Sparks Report by U.S. Congressmen

Violence and threats against union members continue in Colombia, as does the subcontracting of workers with no intention to abide by labor laws or rights, according to a report released Tuesday by two Democratic members of the U.S. Congress.

Reps. George Miller of California and James McGovern of Massachusetts published a 53-page report that focuses on the abuse of labor rights in Colombia a year after a trade pact between Washington and Bogota went into effect.

The accord included a Labor Action Plan framed to correct any violations of labor rights in Colombia.

“Despite lofty rhetoric and extensive plans for reform from the Colombian and United States governments, this report illustrates how Colombia has demonstrably failed to implement the commitments it made in the LAP,” Gimena Sanchez, a senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America, said in a statement.

“Basic labor protections, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, continue to be violated on a national scale,” she said.

Most of the violations of labor rights and violence against unions still goes unpunished, according to the report released by Miller and McGovern.

The report found that more than 93 percent of known cases of violence against union members never received a court sentence, and even when fines are imposed for violations of workplace regulations, they are rarely paid.